American Idol Top 6 Cover 'Contestant's Choice' & Queen: Who Were Your Faves?

American Idol was so stellar this evening, I can’t even find something sarcastic to say about the fact that the proceedings kicked off with the Season 11 Top 6 passing the mic for a medley of Queen’s greatest hits. (Come on, we can all admit that group performances and medleys are two of Satan’s most effective instruments of evil.)

And, yeah, while I could certainly ridicule Randy Jackson for existing suggesting that viewers pick up their phones and vote for everyone, there’s a part of me that understands where the Dawg (another of Satan’s most effective instruments of evil) is coming from.

Indeed, whoever goes home on Thursday night’s results-show telecast, it’s going to sting like a Catholic schoolboy’s knuckles after Sister Mary Claire catches him playing with his mittens during Holy Thursday mass. (That metaphor courtesy of me, circa 1979.)

Anyhow, I’ve got a full recap to crank out — look for it on Thursday at TVLine.com — but before I do, allow me to offer some pithy first impressions on the night’s set list:

QUEEN SONGSJessica Sanchez: “Bohemian Rhapsody” I’m not sure why J.Lo demanded more hair-ography: Girlfriend rocked harder than a quarry hit with a blast of dynamite. Also: Was the trio of black-and-white Jessica heads the best backdrop of Season 11 or what?

Skylar Laine: “The Show Must Go On” I’ll leave this one to my incredibly patient husband: “Why am I rewinding this for the third time when you’re going to be playing it on repeat all week long?” I dunno, hon. But watch me go out on a limb and declare this THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SEASON!

Joshua Ledet: “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” I’m worried my face might be stuck in permanent stank mode after hollerating, testifying, and couch-dancing my way through this legendary performance. Dude actually out-Tasia’d ‘Tasia (who sang this back in Season 3)!

Elise Testone: “I Want It All” If you’re not excited about a future Elise Testone record after this performance, then dial 9-1-1, because you officially have no pulse. (Uh-huh, I said it!)

Phillip Phillips: “Fat Bottomed Girls” Basically this was “Does Your Daddy Let You Date: Part 2.” Not the stuff of Idol legend, exactly, but a whole lot of naughty fun.

Hollie Cavanagh: “Save Me” I don’t care that she was dressed like a 40-year-old office receptionist at a holiday cocktail party, Hollie found a mood and a melody here worthy of her bell-clear voice.

Contestant’s ChoiceJessica Sanchez: Luther Vandross’ “Dance With My Father” No doubt she sang this well, but is there a more painful slice of pablum than this ballad (which already was sung by Jermaine Jones earlier in Season 11)? Song choice alone might put Jessica at risk of elimination for the second time in three weeks.

Skylar Laine: Jason Aldean’s “Tattoos on This Town” The vocal got a little nasal in places, I can’t lie, but when Skylar opened up on those booming closing notes, she recaptured her standard-operating magic. Plus, this kid knows how to embody every word of every song she tackles.

Joshua Ledet: India.Arie’s “Ready for Love” I worry the judges’ standing ovations will eventually do more harm than good, but this stripped-down, from-the-gut vocal had me rolling in the deep. Dude really deserves to make it to hometown visits.

Elise Testone: Jimi Hendrix’s “Bold as Love” Steven might be right that the song was too obscure to capture the speed-dialing hearts of the Idoloonie nation, but I wouldn’t disagree with J.Lo that Elise slaughtered it so thoroughly that maybe it didn’t, or at least shouldn’t, matter.

Phillip Phillips: Dave Matthews Band’s “The Stone” I completely respect that Phillip boldly went in the musical direction he’ll probably pursue post-Idol, but as someone who’s never actually been stoned (I kid you not), I have to ask: Would you have to be stoned to enjoy that unmelodic slice of jam-band ridiculata?

Hollie Cavanagh: Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb” That was like the first dandelion peeping up in your front yard after a long, cold winter: Really, really pretty, even if I’m not sure we’ll still remember it come summertime.

What did you think of Top 6 week? Sound off below, and for all my Idol news, interviews, and recaps, follow me on Twitter @MichaelSlezakTV!

Okay, seriously, Phillip sang a Dave Matthews song…AND SOUNDED JUST LIKE HIM!! I’ve defended Phillip, but this was just stupid, stupid, stupid. Way to prove everyone….right? Bad night for him. Elise had a great night, Joshua had a great night. Skylar, Hollie, and Jessica were half/half. But this being Idol, bottom three will probably be…Elise, Jessica and Joshua. Unrelated note: Ryan Seacrest is straight and has a girlfriend? Wait, what? When did this happen?

I powervoted. I just don’t think there’s enough of us. You know, people with actual good taste and enjoy a real, talented ARTIST. Yeah, if anyone gets that label, it’s Elise. Sorry Phillip fans and Randy Jackson.

I was very disappointed in Phil tonight—although he’s had a rough week health-wise, I don’t know if it marred his performances or not but he didn’t seem up to par at all with anything he sang. I am worried for him. My stars of the night were Skylar, Elise and Joshua!

It was a good Phillip night to me. The Queen song was great- and sounded nothing like his other stuff – plus featured his straight chest voice, but an octave up. And the DMB? A nice nod to critics that say he’s a bad DMB clone. (He can be a really good DMB clone, if he chooses, but can do lots of other things besides…)

Here’s the thing…do we need a DMB clone? He’s proved he’s not, so why become one tonight? Just a weird move. It was really DMB karoake. I think Phillip has talent, but at this point, is he really the strongest? I guess it’s all subjective, but from an objective standpoint, looking at the whole show, P2 had a bad night, similar to Colton last week. But it won’t matter. He’s got his voting block and they’re not going anywhere. (Then again, this has been a surprising season with voting, so there’s a tiny chance for a shocker tomorrow night.)

It really wasn’t any different than Jessica cloning Whiteny’s I Will Always Love You, and she was lauded out the whazoo. Phillip’s not afraid of a DM comparison, though I think it’s as silly as he probably does. I think it was supposed to be a ‘here’s what I can do, and there is that DMB you were talking about’.

Joe – you’d be the spin expert. @jaxguy – there’s not diffference in a note for note (and I certainly don’t agree that Jessica has a great voice, but she may eventually). I’m with Kate – the song is so odd, that like with I Will Always Love You, you risk backlash by altering it.

You hit it on the nose. Listen to the last note skylar hit on show must go on!!! IT was nothing but a shout. I believe she lost her breath? That’s why she was coughing when the judges came to her. She was going to play the cough, I’m sick card cause she knew it but didn’t have too. You want to hear stellar performances of that song Carly Smithson and Amelia Lily. Slezak is starting to feel like American Idol bought his opinion. Delusional and wrong

It’s kind of interesting to note that my favorite Skylar performance so far has been “Wind Beneath my Wings”, I replayed the heck out of that performance, and it’s up there with all the best stuff from this season. She really loses me when she goes rock/country. Normally, I look for contestants to move away from ballads, but I feel like she always has SO much energy, that when she restrains it all into an emotional one minute ballad while hitting those glory notes, I prefer it to her rocking out and giving attitude during an upbeat song. I don’t know….

Elise is my favorite. I WISH she’d make it to final two with Phillip. Honestly, at this point, the terribly underwhelming praise she receives from the judges doesn’t even make me angry any more. I don’t expect anything better from them. But yeah, Randy was at it again, dubbing Phillip the “artist”, Jesus, Randy, they’re ALL “artists”.

If I HAD to see someone go, honestly, I could easily stand to lose Jessica, and less easily stand to lose Hollie cos she’s so darn adorable. But I feel like everything I see from Hollie feels the same now. She’s not wowing me even when she’s on pitch and has emotion and has loosened up. I think it’s the same kind of plateau some people have hit with P2 (which I haven’t. XP)

I missed Colton though. He would have done something contemporary and awesome. *sighs*

This. I know most people won’t bother to youtube Amelia Lily’s performance, but I definitely agree. Skylar’s performance just paled in comparison, and I agree with other posters that at times in verged on screaming, and I’m immensely angry at Slezak for naming that the performance of the season. That was not Skylar firing on all cylinders; something like Born this Way or Stay with Me fit her much better

I wasn’t mad at Randy either…at least not for that comment. I remember throwing some votes for everyone a few seasons ago (maybe a couple votes separated each one but they were fairly equal in the grand scheme of things). If someone were an avid voter every year, I could definitely see him/her voting for all of these guys tonight. You can’t really help who you love after all.

Rank time.
1. Skylar– I love her, so bias. I thought ‘The Show Must Go On’ was one of the best of the night, and also really enjoyed the Jason Aldeen song.
2. Josh — He always sounds great when he does that kind of 50’s old school rock/r&b sound (don’t know if I described it right.) And the restraint on Ready For Love made the gospel payoff at the end even better.
3. Hollie — There is something about her voice that I love. It’s so clear and pure and powerful and fragile at the same time. I wish she would have picked a different Queen song (it was kinda boring, maybe should have gone uptempo?) and I wish she had held the note at the end of the second verse/bridge a half a second longer.
4. Elise — I don’t know what was going on with that Hendrix song. It was sung well but I couldn’t follow a word of it. Queen song was pretty good, but can’t remember much outside the giant “I Want It All”
5. Phillip — Liked his Fat Bottom Girls enough. Was a really fun performance that doesn’t happen much on Idol. But why oh why would you choose a song by the guy you’re constantly compared to, then pick a weird/obscure track that the most memorable thing about it is the fiddle and sax duel? And then it sounded exactly the same as everything he ever does. It’s cool to be an “artist,” but most real artists have some sort of variety. Do not get it.
7. Jessica– She obviously has an amazing voice, but it bores me to tears. Sorry.

Sleazac, I think your compass is off this year. These Queen performances just weren’t all that great. It seems the song edits were really choppy this time around…not the singer’s fault, but it blunted the effectiveness of the performance. By the way, time to pack up the stank face….really, you’ve used that as much as Randy says (insert any random string of words that spew from his mouth).

Did the opening Idol animation change this week? Normally the figure standing in the spotlight is a male with slacks and a jacket. This week the figure had what appeared to be a floor length dress? Are the producers trying the slip us a fast one with the subliminal imagery?

Elise and Skylar were the best of the night..Third will be Jessica (because of her 2nd song)..The others were just average on both songs… My Bottom 2 based on tonight’s performance – Hollie and Philip. Possibly going home – Hollie.

I thought Elise was amazing during the group performance. Maybe it is because she sang first, but she seemed to command the stage and everyone else were like back-up singers! Also, John Mayer covered Bold as Love recently, so the song may not be as obscure as the judges were letting on about.
As far as the rest of the performances go, I loved Joshua! I am not typically a huge r&b fan, but I find myself rooting for him and loving him more and more each week.
The entire group is amazing and I honestly can’t say who will go. I think I will miss any one of them at this point.

I want to like Elise b/c she’s closest to a grownup, but she tries way too hard and then it sounds artificial. It should look effortless and instead it seems contrived. And her voice has style but little substance. When I watch her I feel more tired than entertained. She should just go back to her dive bar band and sound like Joplin to drunks.

Actually, the ones who seem the most forced to me are Phillip (“Dave Matthews to drunks”) and Skylar (“Reba McIntire to drunks”). Perhaps you could also add Jessica (“Beyonce to drunks”), Joshua (“Sam Cooke to drunks”) and Hollie (“Celine Dion to drunks”) to “Joplin to drunks” and make a full concert out of it. In other words, your comment is completely moronic.

I thought everyone was good tonight. I don’t really want to see any of them go home. My favorite was Joshua. I really hope he makes it to top 3, because not only has he been consistently great with his vocals, he also moves the best on stage and is the snappiest dresser. Plus he just seems like a sweet kid but with just a little streak of naughty that makes him interesting.

Everyone did pretty good actually, though for me Elise stole the night with two fab-u-lous performances. The judges are such hypocrites and morons. It just pains me to listen to their bulls*** every single week. They contradict themselves constantly, apply criticisms to some but refuse to apply it to everyone. Just ridiculous. Producers: Please, please, please wipe the judging panel clean and replace ALL of them for next season.

I miss colton, and it’s too bad he didn’t make it to this show because he would have killed it — but anyways, was it just me or did everybody but hollie and jessica have an off night. Skylar seemed to revert back to her country roots, making her less likeable and what the heck was with the two standing ovations for Joshua???? He wasn’t that good, the second one was kinda boring. Randy can you please stop telling Philip that he is an artist, it’s getting sickening.

THE CLIMB was a totally different Hollie, but why no criticism for singing a song you already sang? This aint the finals, though she’ll never see it. Mostly, I love when performers demonstrate demonstrate how lame and untalented Miley is by comparison.

Favorites, Philip, Skylar, Elise. I’m so tired of the Judges standing for Joshua every freakin week. I thought Jessica would do something for her age yet here we go again with another boring song ZZZ. I missed Colton.

I tried, Jason, I really did. It was even worse on review. But i thought that his second song (and the Bruno Mars cover he did) were terrific. Josh’a voice goes totally grating to me most of the time, especially when he pushes. The Queen song was just u-g-l-y.

OMG what does for her age mean. Queen is probably not even your age and Dance with my Father is new enough. WOW. I hate the boring critique. That means you don’t care about the vocals. That comment is boring.

Funny, the more Skylar sings country, the more forgettable she sounds. She does good power pop — less power than jess or hollie, but more true heart. Note to Jessica: More Beyonce, less old stuff and schmaltz. I’d like to see a jessica/joshua finale — the two most talented, precise, and instinctual singers. But I see Skylar in there. Everyone else is toast. Tweens like boys, but not boys who give themselves hernias singing obscure Dave Matthews. Remember, one song did Colton in (and it wasn’t the gaga you dummy!)

In the first song, he sang something that was completely unlike DMB, used his straight, chest voice (no quirks or growling), but sang it up an octave (like DM) from where he normally sings. Then to contrast, he literally cloned DMB. It was pretty sly.

First, I have to pay due respect to the late Freddie Mercury. There will never be another performer to ever own a song and a stage like that man. Thank you and rest in peace.

ELISE TESTONE was where it was at tonight for me! 100% of my votes (ok maybe I did throw a few to Joshua and Jessica) but she got the most!

Jessica “Bohemian Rhapsody” & “ Dance With My Father”
BR: A. Loved the ‘bobble’ heads B. She nailed the song and JLo was way off her rocker (pun intended).
I absolutely loved how she raised those notes, effortlessly with no polish and in tiny moments made it her own. She is 16 people! I think for the …. third time this season I agreed with everything Randy said (but it does not excuse my wish for his elimination). She’ll be channeling some Tina and then some in 10 years from now 20 years from now on her way to being a legend. She can sing anything.

DWMF: Not much of a fan of this song – dig some Luther (didn’t like Jacob Lusk’s version at all). She sang this very well and I enjoyed it and commend her for recognizing her father, their special relationship. Beautiful moment with you Jessi. Love love love string arrangements – sucker for it. I would have preferred just you, piano and strings. Hug your father tight!

Skylar: “The Show Must Go On” & Jason Aldean’s “Tattoos on This Town”

TSMGO: I thought Skylar did a great job with this song. She kept the melody steady and built upon the moments very well (the feel of the story). I wouldn’t say it was over the top (per Steven) but very good. What confuses me is from all the praise she got from all three judges she should have gotten a standing ovation for this round (NOT JOSHUA) – you know they seem to give them so effortlessly in this season.

TOTT: This performance was ok but paled in comparison to others. She was just trying too hard to channel JA and it didn’t work. A little too country…. I hope she understood what Jennifer was saying “is this going to be a wow” “by the end you took us there – with the end note”. Props for Steven calling it out like it should have been (but Heard It through the Grapevine was not a good reference for her to go back to).

Elise TesTONE: “I Want It All” & “Bold as Love”

IWIA: ELISE came, twirled her tambourine in the air, kicked some serous ass, and I LLLLOOOOOVVVVVEEEED it! Again all the praise, no standing O…. ridiculous. That was an f’n performance. Thank you ELISE!

BAL: All I have to say is regardless of whether or not you’re a 70’s child (and he was in his twenties, I was a child) I know the song as well as many other Jimmy Hendrix tunes and anyone else who’s ever been curious about the music scene from the 60’s and 70’s (admired famous guitar players) knows him, that song and I for one think for all the Queen fans watching the show tonight – she added some new fans. It was fantastic Elise and Randy is a f’n idiot – immediate elimination for him! This is the one time I was completely onboard with her lashing out to him – full on – and thank you Jennifer for saying he was completely wrong! She told the story, sang it fantastically, and hell yeah! Just ask the Axis! And good job Wallace – woot! Great to see you guys on stage together.

Phillip: “Fat Bottom Girls” & “The Stone”
FBG: Judges “I love watching you love out of breath”, “Even though you sing songs the same and their yours…”, “It was good – not oh my god – but it was good” Translation – you just have no sense of melody.
Phillip: “Queen is tough man” I was waiting for if you’re a good singer you can sing the phone book….but I didn’t hear that….hmmm.
I also wonder when JLo made the Dave Matthews reference if she’d seen what his ‘other song’ choice was. Oh JLo……
TS: Michael – I have been stoned before and it wouldn’t have sounded better under the influence.
“Typical Phillip Phillips. What am I gonna say about it. I didn’t like the melody. I didn’t like…” Nigel throws spit ball at Steven – listen PP! Listen! Could Randy have said artist any more than he did in those 30 seconds? Really? And his personal plug “I’m a musician and a producer, but a musician first” – immediate elimination for Randy!!
Hollie: “Save Me” & “The Climb”
SM: I loved everything about Hollie’s voice for this song, but I agree 200% with Hollie. She’s still getting the same critique she has since early on… Oh Hollie….
TC: She definitely got some power voting going on for that one from the youngin’s. She did a good job with it – don’t know that it was standing ovation worthy though… Worried for her.

Joshua: “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” & “Ready for Love”

CLTCL: I liked Joshua’s performance and appreciated him holding back on the ‘churching’ of the song. I do not think it was standing ovation worthy though, but it was really good. I also like that he locked eyes with Neka Brown (one of the backup singers) while singing. He’s a little flirt box :) Go Josh! But yes great charisma and stage presence!
RFL: Did not like the scarf. I have never been a big fan of this song but I absolutely LOVED it from Josh and YES this was standing ovation worthy. LOVED the strings – they slay me!! “To a girl who loves music, a girl who loves art, respects the spirit world, and thinks with her heart” Ladies, he’s ready for love.

*****Note for Randy & Jennifer – when you don’t know what else to say the standing ovation speaks for you (however you have worn that out). I agree with what they said though. (Laughed at Skylar “12! 12 Standing O’s!”

Michael, what you wrote about Dave Matthews Band (in Philips excerpt),and his song “The Stone” is just so far from the truth. Any person who took the time to know anything about DMB would know they’re so much more than the “stoner band” that you made them out to be. Philip did a good job on the song, and I love The Stone, but I definitely think he should of sang a more known Dave song like Satellite.

Wow you have absolutely no taste!!!! Joshua and Elise KILLLLEDDDD!!! It tonight. They should get the final for tonight Alone!!!! The Jimi Hendrix joint was sso cooolll and something I never thought I’d see on Idol and she SLAYYYED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, taste is subjective, so I fire that comment right back. :) Joshua’s first song was horrifically bad (seriously, a forced, screechy disaster), and the second was amazingly good. I kinda hated Elise’s Hendrix until I went and listened to the original (yes, I own it, and the more recent John Mayer cover). Then I listened to Elise’s version a few times over before I sort of liked it. But it doesn’t come off well initially, and since the average American hates anything that doesn’t sound like pop, I (reluctantly) put Elise down. I think she’lll be there tomorrow night – not derserved, but even so.

You don’t recall correctly. In the first place, I’ve ‘bashed’ no one – I’ve said repeatedly that everyone in the top 7 were very talented. I have mentioned that during most songs, I don’t like Joshua’s voice because it goes grating after about a minute, and he gets harsh and screechy when he pushes. OTOH, I’be also been perfectly fair and immediately mentioned how great Joshua’s Bruno Mars cover and his second song this week were. I’m always fair and honest. You are corrected. Oh, and his Queen song was horrible, and I know a dozen people that agreed that his first song was awful and his second one great.

Perfectly on? It looks like a pretty close call but Skylar is headed for the B2 with Elise. Tattoo was “under” the pitch. TSMGO was shouty. Unfortunately, I think she survives but Elise earned another week last night.

Rick – My wife & I each week have the same conversation; If we woke up the next morning & found out Randy Jackson was dead would we actually be upset. Might we smile? I don’t think I need to tell you the answer. It’s the question that looks deep into your soul and frightens you, lol.

Dude Slezak you are so delusional. How could you call SHow Must Go On the Performance of the season? I’m not even sure if it was in the top four of the night. OR even Skylar’s best performance? Joshua’s Crazy little thing and Elise’s two performances were so much better. Skylar is good but compare her version to Carly Smithson’s. Far inferior. Or look up Amelia Lily from the X factor. She owns that song!!!!

I was scared for Elise doing Hendrix but that was F-ing EPIC!!!!!! And quite possibly the coolest thing ever on American Idol. You better be flying the artistry flag tomorrow in your critique.

Jessica probably deserves to go home tomorrow but I think Elise may get the shocker elimination even after owning the night!!! I’m scared for her.

Bottom three should be Jessica, Philip, and Holly with Jessica going home

Bottom three will be Elise, Joshua, and Jessica with Elise going home!!!

1. Skylar– she does have a wider range than most country singers. But I would never
buy an album of hers.
2. Josh — he is the best competitor in this game. He is smart in his song choices, knows how to move on stage, and fully inhabit his songs. Love him.
3. Hollie — find her to be stiff and predictable.
4. Elise — for the first time in recorded history, I agree with Randy’s assessment of the Hendrix song. “Yo! What?!”
5. Phillip — disappointing this week. Maybe he wasn’t feeling well.
7. Jessica– stil love her, but her personality is getting overshadowd by the others.

Personality -wise Hollie would win this contest. No schtick, just adorable as a bunny on a cotton panda cloud. Jessica got some editor love this week for once and we got to see her being a kid. If she’s got school as well; I could see why she’d rather be finishing that or rehearsing rather than doing silly filler fluff. Felt she got to show more sides of her this week though both serious and goofy. And I found out that Skylar was thick boned :D

I am sorry but that hendrix song is a song I love and elise made the wrong choice her voice is so not right for that song and the whole entire time I was comparing it to john mayer’s version on continum and he blows her out the water

That’s pretty much it. If you don’t know the song, it’s weird enough not to ‘get it’. If you know the Mayer version, it’s not so hot. I really don’t care for Hendrix in the slightest bit, so I put both over the original.

By reading all the comments so far, it appears that there is backlash against Joshua for the judges’ standing ovations. Don’t take it out on him- the kid is actually good. “Ready for Love” was stellar.

i could punch Steven for what he said tonight. really? you say the exact OPPOSITE to Elise and Phillip?? and the worse part of it was that Elise sang her “obscure” song so well, while Phillip was just ok. how can it be ok for Phillip to do whatever he wants (and not well) and Elise gets criticized for choosing a song (supposedly) no one knows? Steven, how about you choose a side, and then just mention that Elise was amazing and Phillip not as much?? it’s ok to have an opinion, but you have to stick to it. oh, and i hate Randy. i wish we could just vote him off the show tonight instead of one of these 6 amazing people.

I agree (as fans of both Elise and Phillip) that the judges weren’t fair in the comments (they rarely are – see Haley Reinhart last season). I though Phil nailed his obscure version, whereas, I think Elise beat Hendrix, but not the recent Mayer cover. It’d be nice if the judges were a bit more… rational and fair.

Got fired up to watch Carly Smithson’s show must go on. And even though I disagree with Simon who tore her apart after the song I found myself missing Simon so much. The honest Simon who you never knew was going to tear someone a new one. Not the neutered Simon on the X Factor this year!!!!

Than I rewatched Amelia Lily. Best Version of The Show Must Go On ever!!!!!

A great night for my girl Skylar and for Joshua. I loved both of their Queen covers. Freddie Mercury truly was one of a kind, and it would be unfair and just silly to compare anyone to him, so I am taking tonight’s performances at face value.
~
Skylar is the best of them at giving the verses their due. She doesn’t just rush through them so she can get to the choruses and big power moments, like so many of the others do. The Show Must Go On was a show stopper. I’d never heard her second song before, but when she was done I could tell you what it was about. I can’t say that about most of the others, with Jessica and P2 being the worst offenders.
~
Joshua has been amazing the past few weeks. I’d say they don’t make them like that anymore, but there he is. That kid has a future. He killed Crazy Little Thing Called Love. I think Freddie would have liked that. I didn’t know his second song well, but I just enjoy listening to him. I liked that he just sat and sang one.
~
It was also a big night for Elise and for Hollie. I liked both songs from each of them tonight. Elise is at her best when she rocks it out like she did on “I Want It All.” “Bold as Love” is the title song from one of Jimi Hendrix’s well known albums, ” Axis- Bold as Love,” but who ever heard of that? I get that it is not Watchtower, Foxy Lady, Purple Haze, Hey Joe, or one of his best known, but I liked it. It did leave me wanting to hear her sing Little Wing.
~
I didn’t really know the Queen song that Hollie sang, but a song called “Save Me” just seems so appropriate for Idol. While it’s not the biggest song she could have chosen, it really showed off her tone. She sounded good on The Climb, and it was a better performance. I think she should be OK tonight.
~
I think it was a rough night for P2 and Jessica, and either of them could go tomorrow.
~
Jessica’s version of Bohemian Rhapsody was weak sauce. Honestly, Kellie Pickler’s version was much more fun, and a bigger moment. Her second song didn’t do much for me. She has consistently been one of the worst offenders when if comes to mumbling her way to the glory notes. She mumbles in tune, and hits a bunch of notes along the way, but I usually can’t tell you what the hell she just said. It’s kind of like listening to Italian opera. I get the feeling, and the quality of the skill, but I don’t understand the words.
~
I am going to call in one honorary token vote for P2 tonight, just for having the chutzpa to sing “Fat Bottom Girls” while standing ten feet in front of, and looking right at, Jennifer Lopez. His second song was a disaster. I didn’t like unintelligible Grunge in the ’90s and still don’t. I just couldn’t understand a word of it, and it wasn’t in the “I don’t get it, but I know it’s art” way of the opera I compared Jessica to.

I wouldn’t say sublime (Adele is sublime), but jessica finally picked an age-appropriate song that she could emotionally connect to, and she didn’t mumble (for a change). She did an awesome job on the second song. Of course, there were several awesome covers tonight.

Any sixteen year old who can sing with that much emotional projection and vocal expression is reaching pretty close. Adele is a seasoned pro of extreme excellence but in context, for Idol ; Jessica’s preformance last night was on a higher stage. Glad she got to sing something personal for her pops.

Adele’s 22 and made her first album at 19, fresh out of school. She wasn’t a pro when she wrote half her songs, and she’d really had no gigging experience before she had a hit. Jessica’s Queen song was just OK, but she did a great job on Dance With My Father – because she *finally* chose an age appropriate song that she could persoanlly connect with. That connection has been missing on a lot of her songs (I mention it, the judges mention it, record execs mention it – it’s true.)

Jimmy is the only record exec who mentioned it and he’s been all over the place this season. And a 16 year old and a 19 year can BOTH be sublime. Since Jessica did it all across the board on the second song and everyone agreed, I’m not sure what all the fuss y’all are goin on about. The funny thing is that Adele may not be the type of talent that would cut it on Idol as great as she is. Idol is a different animal and not indicative of what the public really wants in their listening devices, I could just see JLO wanting her to dance more, Steven telling her to choose more popular songs and the teenies voting against her appearance even though she has her own beauty. Imagine er in the group numbers. This is why many record execs see the promise in Jessica, she stands out even with all these obstacles. A few of the other contestants are almost there as well.

I’m sorry but Elise sounds like she needs a cough drop. Phillip sounds like he needs a laxative, Joshua sounds like he struggling with the holy ghost, Skylar sounds like she had a bad nose job, and Hollie sounds like she’s auditioning for the high school production. Just kidding…they are all talented.

This was a fabulous show! I loved it! I even bought both whole cast albums–THAT’s never happened. That said, Phillip and Skylar are the weakest singers left and I hope they are at least in the bottom three tomorrow. I particularly hope Phillip is in the bottom 3 tomorrow, just to even out the playing field for everyone. I’ll give it to Phillip: He’s very amusing and charming. But he’s not a great singer. And “The Stone” is the oddest song choice I’ve ever seen on AI, and it seemed off too. (Phillip’s pitch isn’t great, but he’s been getting away with it by being “bluesy” and sliding all around the notes.) As amusing as Phillip is, it’s only fair he goes home. Skylar has energy and has a big voice, but is indeed nasal and lacks shading in her interpretations. She’s got big and bigger. Every song seems to contain some bellowing. Sometimes the whole song is like that. I’ll be really sorry to see any of the other four singers go home. They are extraordinarily gifted. I thought Holly’s “Save Me” was the best of the night. I had to vote for her, Jessica and Elise a little bit, even though I love Joshua so much that lately I haven’t been voting for anyone else.

Jessica probably should have begged off Bohemian Rhapsody, which doesn’t work in 90 seconds, but she sounded surprisingly decent on the rock part. Hate Dance With My Father, but she did well on it. I tihink getting voted out on a song few had ever heard scared her, and she’s gone ultra-conservative.

Skylar’s second song annoyed me, but I dug The Show Must Go On.

Joshua won the night: Crazy Little Thing was more proof that he can be fun when he puts his mind to it, and the second song was just gorgeous.

Yet again with Elise, it’s song choice that tells the tale: I Want it All was the best performance of the night, but for Song 2, why pick hippie weirdness from a man known first and foremost as a guitarist, not a singer or lyricist?

Phillip: worst of the night. No range, no dynamics. I have no idea what the judges think they’re watching.

Hollie was OK, but the sameness is starting to wear: always a ballad, always a held glory note at the end. And no one who has ever complained about “pageanty” girl singers on Idol can endorse The Climb.